Development News for Mesa, Arizona

Mesa Reviews Foreign Trade Zone Program and Approves Operator Agreement for MGC Pure

The city is discussing the U.S. Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) program and an operator agreement for MGC America Incorporated. The FTZ program, administered federally, encourages companies to manufacture, assemble, and invest in the U.S. by offering customs duty deferrals and exemptions, thereby reducing costs and enhancing global competitiveness. Mesa's FTZ program (FTZ 221) was established in 1997 and has undergone reorganizations to expand its boundaries and streamline processes under the Alternative Site Framework. MGC Pure, a subsidiary of Japan-based Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company and Mesa's North American headquarters for its semiconductor chemical manufacturing, is seeking FTZ designation. This designation is expected to help MGC Pure mitigate tariffs, facilitate growth, and potentially add 100 jobs to its current 150 employees. The program also offers community benefits like job creation, retention, economic growth, and environmental efficiencies.

Mesa Advances Downtown Restaurant Incubator Project with Local First Arizona Lease Agreement

The city is moving forward with developing a downtown restaurant and food business incubator at 111 West Main Street, funded by ARPA. The project includes a public food hall on the first floor to train future restaurateurs and a basement with classroom and production kitchen space. The contract amount for construction was approximately $4.5 million, with the basement being built out to a warm shell condition due to construction costs. Local First Arizona is proposed to operate the incubator through a 10-year lease, renewable for two 5-year terms. The lease includes $10,000 annual rent for the first 10 years, increasing by $5,000 every five years. This initiative aims to foster resilient small businesses, create long-term economic growth, and enhance the downtown culinary scene.

Mesa Council Members Highlight Community Events, New Businesses, and Cultural Activities

Council members shared updates on community events and activities. Updates included the opening of Blue Corn Cafe, a new downtown business offering sourdough, muffins, desserts, coffee, sandwiches, and potentially jazz brunch; the summer reading kickoff at the Mesa Main Library and Red Mountain Branch Library featuring dinosaurs; a speaker series at the Arizona Museum for Natural History on prehistoric Arizona fauna; a tour of the Mesa Arts Center studios showcasing classes like glass blowing and ceramics; a volunteer event at the United Food Bank packaging emergency food bags; and upcoming city events like a skate party, movie night, and Falcon Field cockpit close-up. The council also acknowledged June as Pride Month.

Mesa Approves Purchase of Solar-Powered Traffic Signal Trailers for Temporary Traffic Management

The city is proposing to purchase solar-powered portable traffic signal trailers for the Transportation Department. These trailers will be deployed initially at the intersection of Higley and Longbow to manage traffic from a quarry project that is expected to generate 500-900 truck trips per day. The quarry owners will partially fund these trailers. The intersection is projected to require a permanent traffic signal within 12-18 months, during which the temporary trailers will be used. The city plans to reuse these trailers at other locations as needed due to growth and construction. The purchase is considered more cost-effective than leasing, based on previous experience with two other temporary trailers that have been in use for 15 months longer than initially planned.